Brisk movement imagination for the non-invasive control of neuroprostheses: a first attempt

The consequences of a spinal cord injury (SCI) are tremendous for the patients. The loss of motor functions, especially of grasping, leads to a dramatic decrease in quality of life. With the help of neuroprostheses, the grasp function can be substantially improved in cervical SCI patients. Nowadays, systems for grasp restoration can only be used by patients with preserved voluntary shoulder and elbow function. In patients with lesions above the 5th vertebra, not only the voluntary movements of the elbow are restricted, but also the overall number of preserved movements available for control purposes decreases. In this work, a new method for the non-invasive use of a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) for the control of the hand and elbow function is presented.